Professionals from many different organizations across both the public and private sectors will gather at the first Esri Homeland Security GIS Summit to examine practical solutions for desktop, enterprise, mobile, and Web deployment of spatial information. The summit will take place at the Adams Mark Hotel in Denver, Colorado, September 12-14, 2005.

Building and accelerating informational capabilities for homeland security are an important focus for many managers and decision makers. Fostering partnerships among emergency management, private medical systems, public health systems, transportation networks, and a myriad of business entities that play critical roles in the protection of community infrastructures is among the key drivers of success. Information is important but access to the right information at the right time provides the common operational picture that supports effective response to a threat or a disaster. Improving the flow and availability of relevant information through purposeful collaboration can lead to improved response and recovery. Geographic information systems, or GIS, provide the foundation upon which organizations can create, manage, analyze, and exchange geographically relevant information that enables sound decision making and shared consensus among those who need to know.

The Esri Homeland Security GIS Summit will provide a forum for business and government leadership, along with IT professionals, to learn of best practices in homeland security collaboration and to network with others, either building or funding intelligent, collaborative arrangements. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from other professionals, get connected to the most current solutions, and discover how Esri's powerful and scalable GIS solutions are serving the many players in homeland security. Persons with responsibilities for worker safety, emergency budgeting and planning, policy development, private–public partnerships, data and information systems across governmental agencies, NGOs, and private industry will benefit from the summit's sessions, discussions, and demonstrations.

For more information about the summit, visit www.esri.com/hlssummit. More information about GIS and homeland security is available at www.esri.com/homelandsecurity.